Field of the Invention and Related Art Statement
The present invention relates to an apparatus for successively treating optical cards comprising a magazine for storing a number of optical cards and a driving means for transporting the optical cards out of and into the magazine.
The above mentioned apparatus can be utilized to supplying the optical card into an apparatus such as an optical card reader and/or writer, an optical card testing device, an optical card sorting device and optical cards retrieving device, in which a number of optical cards are processed successively.
The optical card has a superior property that a very large amount of information can be recorded thereon and it can be manufactured at a low cost, so that it is convenient to manufacture a very large number of optical card having the same information recorded thereon in a fully automatic manner with the aid of a printing machine. On the other hand, it is also proposed to manufacture a relatively small number of optical cards having specific information recorded thereon. In the optical cards testing device, optical card sorting device and optical card retrieving device, it is desired to develop an optical card continuously treating apparatus which stores a plurality of optical cards in a magazine and the optical cards are successively supplied into a predetermined position of the utilizing device.
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-61437, there is disclosed an apparatus for reading the optical cards successively, comprising an optical card supplying section for successively supplying the optical cards into an optical card reading position and an optical card discharging section for discharging the optical cards successively out of the optical card reading position. In this known apparatus the optical cards are stored in a magazine in such manner that they are separated from each other, but a space for storing a single optical card is so large that the magazine is liable to become large. Moreover, as the magazine comprises a driving device for discharging the optical card out of the magazine, the magazine is complicated in construction and large in size. If it is required to issue a large number of optical cards, a large number of magazines must be prepared, so that the cost becomes high.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication Kokai Sho No. 48-30340, there is described another known optical card reader in which optical cards are stored in a cartridge and are discharged therefrom one by one through an opening provided at the bottom of the cartridge. The optical card discharged from the cartridge is then fed into the optical card reading position by means of a conveying belt. In this known optical card reader, in order to discharge the optical cards one by one out of the cartridge, the opening provided at the bottom of the cartridge is formed in the shape of a thin slit and the optical cards are pressed downwards by means of a resilient member. Therefore, successively stacked optical cards are pressed against each other and the surfaces of optical cards might be injured. In the optical cards in which the recorded information is read out by utilizing difference in the reflectivity of the card surface, defects on the card surfaces might result in erroneous reading.